Tens of thousands expected to attend 'coming out for cannabis'

Five months after Colorado voters legalized the use and possession of small amounts of marijuana, the man who puts together what is considered the largest marijuana celebration in the world is, on April 20, poised to host the biggest one yet.

Lopez expects tens of thousands of people to attend Saturday's "4/20" rally in Civic Center Park, creating perhaps the largest collectively produced cloud of marijuana smoke ever at 4:20 p.m.

Legalization, Lopez says, "gives people socially more acceptance. It's kind of like coming out for cannabis."

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But Lopez doesn't view this year's event as a celebration of Amendment 64, the pro-pot measure that voters passed in November. Instead, it is as much a protest against the measure.

"It is still only a legislative act to create an economy and not to end a war that has destroyed thousands of lives," Lopez wrote of the amendment in a press release for the rally.

The people behind Amendment 64, likewise, are holding the rally at arm's length.

"We've never done really any events around 4/20, at least in terms of our organization," said Mason Tvert, one of Amendment 64's authors. "People should know that using marijuana in public and marijuana use by people under 21 are still against the law in Colorado."

With planned rallies, concerts, exhibitions and a convention, Saturday in Denver will show what Colorado voters empowered by making the state one of the first two to legalize marijuana. But the day -- and the rally, especially -- will also demonstrate the division that exists between those who see marijuana legalization as a staid political campaign and those who see it as an expression of pot passion.

While Lopez said the massive smoke-out showcases "a proud community and culture," more cautious marijuana advocates privately say they worry that the scenes of overt marijuana use -- which, after all, take place between the state Capitol and the Denver City and County Building, where officials are currently writing the laws for legal marijuana -- are counterproductive.

Medical-marijuana dispensaries, too, typically approach the event somewhat conflicted. While several advertise at the rally, others choose to avoid the event for fear it will ding their professional image. The executive director of one dispensary trade association, the Medical Marijuana Industry Group, declined to comment when asked about the group's position on the rally.

What this will all add up to on Saturday is that -- as Lopez directs a day-long festival of musical performances, fiery speeches and a hemp fashion show -- another one of Amendment 64's authors, Brian Vicente, will give a relatively low-key talk about political advocacy.

"The 4/20 event has never been the focus of our activism," Vicente said. "At the same time, we respect those individuals who choose to engage in civil disobedience on that day. That is their form of activism."

What is little in dispute is that Denver will be permeated with pot this weekend.

The rally has become the centerpiece of an entire weekend devoted to marijuana in the city. There will also be marijuana-themed concerts and parties.

A travel company -- the first marijuana tour guide in the country -- says it has hundreds of people signed up for trip packages that include marijuana cooking demonstrations and visits to a medical-marijuana dispensary's cultivation facility.

There is also a major marijuana convention -- The High Times Cannabis Cup -- taking place in the city, the first time ever the magazine for pot aficionados has held the event in the United States. Just before the great exhale at 4:20 p.m., Lopez said attendees at the convention will drive to the rally in Civic Center Park in -- what else? -- the CannaBus.

Though officials say rally organizers chronically overestimate their crowd sizes, Lopez says he is bracing this year for as many as 80,000 people to attend.

"We have people coming from all over the country," Lopez said.

Richard Scharf, the president and CEO of Visit Denver, said there is little indication right now that the 4/20 events will be a major boost to tourism. He said hotels aren't seeing an abnormal surge in bookings.

"It's just another weekend in April for us," said Scharf -- whose organization, incidentally, opposed Amendment 64 but which, he said, is now neutral on marijuana tourism.

Denver police similarly don't expect this year's 4/20 events to require any greater response than in years past.

"Anytime we have an event rally or protest, our primary focus is on public safety and on maintaining peaceful assembly," police spokesman Aaron Kafer said.

That means people smoking pot in the park likely won't face a ticket. Police will look for more serious offenses, and marijuana use outside the park will be addressed on a "case-by-case" basis, Kafer said.

Lopez said rally organizers won't condone marijuana use by teens or adults giving pot to teens. But they also won't apologize for adult displays of marijuana devotion, even if those hits aren't legally legit.

"People have a sense of pride on that day," Lopez said, "and a sense of not being a criminal."